With so many streaming services out there, it’s almost a chore to do your homework and figure out which one or ones deserve your money. Although many streaming services offer a combination of original content and exclusive content from a variety of networks, Apple TV+ is the only streaming service that offers purely original content.
Did you know that Apple and Disney both released streaming services around the same time? Apple TV+ launched on November 1, 2019, and then Disney+ launched a few weeks later on November 12, 2019. Though Disney+ is currently more popular than Apple TV+, that doesn’t mean that Apple doesn’t have some amazing original content to binge.
In fact, a few original TV shows and movies have even won awards and been positively received by the public, but more on that later. Without further ado, here’s everything you could possibly need to know about Apple TV+ before making a decision on whether or not you should subscribe.
Apple TV Plus: A Brief History
Though talks of a streaming platform from Apple had been heard since 2015 and 2016, Apple TV+ wasn’t officially announced until March 2019 during an Apple Special Event. The service launched on November 1, 2019, with a variety of original film and television content.
Apple TV+ wasn’t a success right off the bat, like Disney+, but it has slowly grown since its initial launch in 2019. The service continually adds great new content, and certain original shows and films have even won awards, like Ted Lasso and CODA.
The increasing popularity of the service could be because of how Apple keeps including it as a freebie, so to speak, in many cases. For example, it’s included in all Apple One plans, it’s free with a student subscription to Apple Music, and free with any new Apple purchase.
That said, Apple TV+ has released some stellar content since 2019, and the level of professionalism in its TV shows, movies, and documentaries is constantly improving. So while the service might be bundled with other services to expose people to its awesomeness, people stick with it afterward because it’s great.
How Much Does It Cost?
If you just want Apple TV+ and you don’t want any other paid services from Apple, the fee is pretty straightforward. After a seven-day free trial, an Apple TV+ subscription costs $4.99 per month. If you purchase a new Apple device, you get three months of Apple TV+ for free, which is more of a bonus if you already regularly purchase Apple products.
Regular Apple users know of all the paid subscription services the company offers, but if you’re unfamiliar, here’s a quick rundown. The Apple name goes in front of all the following services, but for all our sakes, I’m going to omit it: Music, TV+, Arcade, iCloud+, News+, and Fitness+. Apple makes it possible for you to bundle services with a single Apple One subscription.
An Individual plan costs $14.95 per month, is good for only one person, and includes Apple Music, TV+, Arcade, and iCloud+ with 50GB of storage. The next tier is the Family plan, which includes the same services as the Individual plan, but the iCloud+ subscription has 200GB of storage; this plan costs $19.95, but it can be shared among five people.
Then, there’s the plan for Apple lovers: the Premier plan. Like the Family plan, the Premier plan can be shared among five people, which helps split the cost of $29.95 per month if it’s divided evenly. The Premier plan includes all six of Apple’s available paid services, so basically everything in the Individual and Family plans, but also News+ and Fitness+.
Also, if you qualify for a student plan of Apple Music, you get access to Apple TV+ for free!
What Content Is Available?
Unlike almost every other streaming service, Apple TV+ only has original content. Some people see this as a con because there’s no familiar content to draw you in, while others see it as a pro because everything you’re viewing is unique to the service. The service is home to some award-winning TV series and movies, interesting documentaries, cute and entertaining content for kids—and it’s all original.
TV Shows
The most popular TV show on Apple TV+ is arguably Ted Lasso. If you plan on subscribing to the service, this TV show is a must-watch. And if you don’t believe me, then just look at how many Emmy awards the show won.
That said, there are a ton of other great original shows on Apple TV+. While there are too many to list out here, these are the most popular series you can stream as a subscriber:
- The Essex Serpent
- The Morning Show
- Shining Girls
- Severance
- Central Park
- Schmigadoon!
- Mythic Quest
- Dickinson
- For All Mankind
- The Shrink Next Door
Movies
Just like the TV shows offered through Apple TV+, all films are originals, and most are a pretty great watch. One of the movies I mentioned earlier, CODA, won three Oscars in March 2022, one of which was for Best Picture. If you’re not into dramas, however, there are plenty of movies from other genres to keep you company on Apple TV+, including:
- On the Rocks
- The Elephant Queen
- The Velvet Underground
- Beastie Boys Story
- Boys State
- Hala
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Wolfwalkers
- The Sky Is Everywhere
- Palmer
What Devices Can You Watch Apple TV Plus on?
Some people might think that in order to watch Apple TV+, you need to have an Apple TV or some other device from Apple. Luckily, that’s not true. You can stream content from Apple TV+ on pretty much any device you own, but here’s a full list of your options:
Where Is the Service Available?
Apple TV+ is currently available in over 100 different countries. If your country supports other Apple services, it likely supports Apple TV+ as well.
Although this is not an extensive list of all countries you can stream Apple TV+ content in, these are the major continents and countries where it’s available:
- North America (The United States, Canada, Mexico)
- South America (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru)
- Europe (The United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece, France)
- Asia (Ukraine, India, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand)
- Africa (Egypt, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa)
- Australia
How Does It Compare to Other Streaming Services?
When you’re trying to decide which streaming services deserve your money, you’re likely looking at two things: pricing and available content. So while streaming services might differ slightly in which countries they’re available in or which devices content they can be streamed on, we’ll just be looking at the content offered and pricing plans.
Though it was mentioned more in-depth earlier, here’s a refresher on the price of Apple TV+. To pay for Apple TV+ by itself, it’s $4.99 per month, and that’s the price it’s been since it launched in November 2019. If you subscribe to Apple One and receive other paid Apple services in addition to Apple TV+, plans start at $14.95 per month. To compare here’s what pricing looks like for other popular streaming services at the moment:
- Netflix: The Basic plan costs $9.99 per month. However, most people usually spring for the Standard plan ($15.49 per month) or Premium plan ($19.99 per month). Netflix also seems to raise its prices pretty consistently.
- Hulu: If you’re okay with seeing occasional ads, you can view content on Hulu for $6.99 per month; otherwise, you’ll pay $12.99 per month for no ads.
- Paramount+: Paramount’s Essential plan is $4.99 per month and has ads, while the Premium plan is ad-free (aside from ads for Paramount+ content) and is $9.99 per month.
- HBO Max: If you don’t want to see ads during your content binges, HBO Max will cost you $14.99 per month. If you’re okay with seeing ads and want to save some money, the service costs $9.99 per month.
- Disney+: Although it’s fairly affordable right now at $7.99 per month, Disney+ will likely go up in price fairly soon. The service has already increased the monthly cost once since launching in November 2019.
Subscribing to Apple TV+ is a great idea if you’re curious what all the buzz is about surrounding Ted Lasso, CODA, and other popular originals from the streaming service. If you’re not interested in Apple TV+ original content, the service doesn’t have anything to offer you. At an incredibly affordable price point of $4.99 per month, it’s worth it to at least try Apple TV+ to see if there are any movies or TV shows you can’t live without.
